Category Archives: Church

Grumbling for water

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For the Third Sunday of Lent, there’s this excerpt from the First Reading from today’s Mass (Exodus 17:3):

In those days, in their thirst for water,
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?
Was it just to have us die here of thirst
with our children and our livestock?”

Courtesy of USCCB

When I read that, it immediately struck me as a bunch of people on the verge of relapsing. Well, they were, in a way: they longed for the food security of Egypt, completely disregarding the slavery they experienced there. Dosn’t this sound like a relapse episode? You have been free of the practice of your addiction for some time now; enjoying to varying degress of success your new life. But something bad has happened. Your first major setback and now your new coping skills are lacking and you long for the false security and refuge of your formwr way of life. 

This invariably leads to the Gospel reading of John 4:5-42; also known as the “Woman at the Well” story. I will not show the entire reading here, since you should have gone to Mass, or you can just grab your Catholic Bible and read it at your convenience. But you probably know the story about how Jesus converts the sinful woman he found at the well of Jacob, as well as the village, by promising the “Living Water” of His Gospel and His future Church and Her sacraments.

There it is, right in front of you: two choices. If you are in danger of relapsing or you think you might be at risk in the future, the choices are stark. The “Dying Water” of your addiction versus the “Living Water” of the Gospel and the Church’s sacramental life. Lent is a time for reconnecting what you’ve either lost or become inattentive to. This is the theme of many Lenten social media posts and podcasts. Lent puts you back on the track of getting closer to Jesus. You can’t get closer than getting Him in the sacraments. The Eucharist is literally His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity; Confession is literally coinfessing yur sins to Jesus (through a priest, but Jesus forgives your through that priest.)

Spend time in Church this Lent. Go the Mass on Sundays (it’s an obligation on the pain of mortal sin unless you have an unavoidable obstacle such as health, weather, or transportation issues) and even weekdays if possible. Go to Confession more often than you do outside of Lent. Read a good spiritual book.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Declare your sins to one another

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The Reading from the Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours for Friday in the 2nd week of Lent is:

Declare your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may find healing. The fervent petition of a holy man is powerful indeed. My brothers, the case may arise among you of someone straying from the truth, and of another bringing him back. Remember this: the person who brings a sinner back from his way will save his soul from death and cancel a multitude of sins. (James 5:16, 19-20)

Courtesy: DivineOffice.org

Lent is upon us! Many parishes have Lenten penance services scheduled so that people have easy access to a priest to confess the sins they’ve been shedding all season. Usually there’s an abundance of priests from all over. Perfect time to confess to a priest who doesn’t know you all of those embarassing peccadilloes you’re ashamed to confess to your regular confessor. PRO TIP: your regular confessor “has heard it all before” and likely isn’t surprised by anything; so, if you missed the penace service or if there isn’t one, apart from travelling to a different parish, just suck it up and go to Confession this weekend at your parish! Try to go more than you normally do outside of Lent. Pope St. John Paul II suggested long ago that Catholics who wish to progress spiritually should go to Confession at least once a month. 

Another thing you can do: start a Catholic spirituality blog, podcast or YouTube Channel. Talk about hown the Catholic faith and her sacraments, the Mass, prayers and devotions can assist anyone in growing closer to God. You can even clear the way for your eventual death and enter Heaven. “Remember this: the person who brings a sinner back from his way will save his soul from death and cancel a multitude of sins.” Just make sure you know what you’re talking about and it’s Catholic teachings you’re promoting, not your own masquerading as Catholic. There’s too much masquerading going around.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

In God alone is my soul at rest

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The excerpt from the Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours for the Wednesday of the  Second week of Lent comes from Psalm 62:1-2.

In God alone is my soul at rest;
my help comes from him.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold,
my fortress: I stand firm.

Courtesy: DivineOffice.org

The world is currently ablaze in war; Russia’s Fascist aggression against Ukraine is now over 4 years old and virtually every country in the Middle East is involved to one degree or another in the joint US/Israeli military action against Iran. Things could get nuclear. Political discord is increasing exponentially in the United States. The US and global economy is being victimzed by idiotic political decisions.. 

There are plenty of reasons to return to drinking and drugging; it could make “things go away” temporarily or at least make them seem manageable.

The first two verses from Psalm 62 which form the first psalm reading from tonight’s Evening Prayer is a worthwhile passaage to meditate on and perhaps even memorize for when you have the urge to drink or drug again when things get tough. They’re going to get tougher. Only God can be the fortress within which you can take refuge in. For 2,000 years Catholics going throught wars, plagues, oppression and poverty have known this and have sought refuge in the Faith. Faith helps you rise above the temporary things that disturb us. Countries come and go, wars are always fought and won or lost, leaders become full of their own ego and narcissism and bring socieities down. The Catholic Church and her adherents remain.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Begin NOW!

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The Verse before the Gospel for Monday of the First Week of Lent:

Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.

Courtesy USCCB

NOW is the acceptable time to begin following Jesus like you’ve not done before; NOW is the day when you say “I belong to Jesus.” And if so, then you must belong to His Church. Come Home to the Catholic Church.

NOW is the time when you begin to take seriously His command to “take up your Cross and follow Him.”

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Lent 2026!

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Lent is almost upon us! Ash Wednesday is next week, on the 18th.

Lenten regulations:

Abstinence: All Catholics who have reached their 14th birthday are
bound to abstain totally from meat on Ash Wednesday, all Fridays of
Lent and Good Friday.

Fasting: All Catholics between their 18th and 59th birthdays are bound
to observe the Law of Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. This
practice involves limiting oneself to a single full meal and avoiding food
between meals. Light sustenance may be taken on two other occasions
in the course of the day.

Easter Duty: After they have been initiated into the Most Holy
Eucharist, all the faithful are bound by the obligation of receiving
Communion at least once a year. This precept must be fullled during
the Easter season, unless for a good reason it is fullled at another time
during the year. This obligation may be fullled between February 22,
2026 (First Sunday of Lent) and May 31, 2026 (Trinity Sunday).

You can visit the USCCB site for them, too

I may try and blog every day (or as often as possible) on the Daily Mass readings; or perhaps run through the Ten Commandments and Beatitudes as a kind of examenation of conscience. Or, perhaps do both.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Why do some novenas end before the feast day while others end on it?

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Ever since I began this blog (and it might even predate that, it might have been soon after I reverted to the Church) I noticed that sometimes a novena ends on the day of the feast, while at other times it ends on the day before. I was never able to figure out why. 

As I mentioned in this early post:

After His Resurrection, Jesus remained with His disciples for 40 days. He Ascended into Heaven to return to the Father, and promised that He would send the Advocate (The Holy Spirit, a/k/a The Third Person of the Holy Trinity to guide us.) Pentecost was ten days after His Ascension, and after their day’s journey return to Jerusalem, the disciples gathered to pray for nine days.

Acts 1:12-14

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Thus begins the Catholic tradition of praying a novena. It is a prayer of nine day’s duration. Not 24 hours a day for nine days, although the above Scriptural passage seems to imply that they prayed that intensely. Nowadays, it is a prayer of varying duration, said once a day for nine days.

The above passage implies that they prayed for nine days, and then the Feast of Pentecost took place. From what I discovered online, that is the ‘classic’ way to schedule a novena: to finish the day before. The prayerful recitation of the novena is an act of preparation leading up to the feast. This is more of a liturgical style of scheduling the novena and was common in the Early Church and up through to the Middle Ages.

The other method, that of ending on the day of the feast, arose out of popular devotions and parish life (startting around the Middle Ages.) The idea is that the devotees of the saint conclude the novena on the saint’s feast day; thus honoring the saint by including their day (and likely a Mass in their honor) into the novena. This type of novena scheduling is more of a celebratory nature as opposed to the preparatory nature of the liturgical method.

Finally. I’ve been writing this blog for 19 years and quite often I mention my confusion over this; you’d have thought I’d have looked it up by now. Some people!

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Living the Message of Lourdes

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Reblogged from last year:
Tomorrow is the Feast Day of Our Lady  of  Lourdes, commemorating the first apparition Our Lady to a young sheperdess, St. Bernadette Soubirous, in this date in Lourdes, France, 1858. You can learn all about it here: The official website of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes as well as: Lourdes Sanctuary.

Given the significance of this Apparition to us alcoholics and addicts (recovered or not) I wrote an entire chapter on it in  “The Sober Catholic Way.” 

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From Chapter XVI: “Live the Message of Lourdes:”

How is the Apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes related to the Sober Catholic Way? We are sick people, regardless of the length of our sobriety. Our Lady of Lourdes is our special channel of healing graces. Jesus is the Divine Physician and He works through His Mother at Lourdes.

Furthermore, Our Lady told Bernadette several times about the need for penance. This strikes at the heart of who we are. For we have hurt and damaged others through the sins we committed against them during our active years of addiction. Penance is something we desperately need.

Therefore:

We should also willingly “take up our Crosses” and accept those trials, troubles, and tribulations that come into our lives every day and offer them up in reparation for our sins and those of others.

You could rephrase a part of that in Twelve Step language as a type of ‘making amends.’

And one last thing: it’s OUR FEAST DAY, TOO!!

Pope St. John Paul II had declared February 11th as the “World Day of the Sick,” a special day for healing Masses and prayers for anyone suffering from any illness, malady, or disability. It’s our feast day!

Donations to support my work are appreciated!

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Holy Face of Jesus Novena 2026!

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An annual reminder:

The Holy Face Novena begins on Sunday, February 8th, so as to end on Monday, February 16th. The Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus is Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 (it is always the day before Ash Wednesday.)

Holy+Face 1920w.

Novena prayers are listed at these sites:

The Holy Face Novena at The Holy Face Devotion dot org

There are THREE Novenas listed here: Holy Face Novena and Act of Consecration to the Holy Face at Illumina Domine

This is the one that I will be saying (as it’s also on a prayer card I use):

(Short Novena) Holy Face Novena Prayer by The Holy Man of Tours, Leo DuPont

O Lord Jesus Christ, in presenting ourselves before Your adorable Face, to ask of You the graces of which we stand most in need, we beseech You, above all, to give us that interior disposition of never refusing at any time to do what You require of us by Your Holy Commandments and Your Divine inspirations.

O Good Jesus, Who has said: “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you,” give us, O Lord, that faith which obtains all, or supply in us what may be deficient. Grant us, by the pure effect of Thy Charity and for Thy eternal glory, the graces we need and which we look for from Thine infinite mercy. Amen.

Be merciful to us, O God, and reject not our prayers when, amid our afflictions, we call upon Your Holy Name and seek with love and confidence Your Adorable Face.

We thank You, O Lord, for all Thy benefits, and we entreat You to engrave in our hearts feeling of love and gratitude, putting upon our lips songs of thanksgiving to Your eternal praise. Amen.

HEAD’S UP: That last resource (Illumina Domine) has a really interesting post on something I never knew. 

Many Catholics are unaware of the fact that this millennium was dedicated to the Face of Christ by Pope St. John Paul II. He lifted high before the Church the banner of the Holy Face of Jesus at the dawn of the millennium. The Face of Christ was to be the standard for the faithful to follow in this spiritual battle that exists in the world between light and darkness.

You can read that wonderful post here: Pope St. John Paul II.

I have written before on the Holy Face Devotion. In The Holy Face Devotion: what we need for our times I said:

This Devotion is intended to make reparation for the sins of blasphemy against the Holy Name of God and the profanation of Sundays and Holy Days. In addition, it is to be a spiritual weapon against Communists.

I think it can, and should, be used as a spiritual weapon against right-wing extremism and not just Communism. Communism and Fascism are two sides of the same coin; both glorifybthe power of the State at the expense of God, and Fascism adds the glorification and near idol-worship of the leader it centers around.

You can apply the Holy Face Devotion to your alcoholism and addction recovery! Please read these two posts:

The Holy Face of Jesus Chaplet for Alcoholics and Addicts

Using the Holy Face Chaplet as a “sobriety’ or “recovery” chaplet

Resources on the Holy Face Devotion:

The Holy Face, Disfigured by Sin

Books on the Holy Face Devotion. And a chaplet.

A Prayer to the Holy Face from EWTN

The archive of posts on the Holy Face is here.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

On Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces

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More thoughts on Mater Populi Fidelis. No one asked, but this is my blog so pfthpfth.

Jesus is the sole Redeemer and Mediator of all Humankind.

Mary, under her titles of co-Redeemer (Redemptrix) and co-Mediator (Mediatrix) is still a member of humanity; she is not a god, or demi-god. There’s God the Father, then, Jesus as the sole Mediator and Redeemer; and then, at the pinnacle of the human pile, Mary. She is not in any external position between humanity and Jesus.

By virtue of her Immaculate Conception is the most perfect and exalted member of humanity and because of that, she leads us to Jesus. What else can she do? That is how her Redemptrix and Mediatrix attributes (for lack of a better term) are worked out. She leads us to Jesus and intercedes for us with Him.

Although I still like that document, I wish the author’s perspective was more like that. It wouldn’t fundamentally change the document, but it might have stepped on fewer conservative/traditionalist toes and also might have set up the conditions that would enable a future Pope to formally declare Mary as Co-Redeemer and Co-Mediatrix as the final Marian dogma. Coming from the perspective I described above, it would have encouraged further thinking and discussion, leading towards greater acceptance of the dogma. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The Hour of Grace, December 8th, Noon to 1PM local time

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This is from an approved apparition (see: Green light for devotion to Our Lady Mystical Rose, plus, you can just look up stuff yourself on Our Lady of the Mystical Rose/Mary, Mystical Rose/Our Lady of Montichiari/ or the seer Pierina Gilli)

Image courtesy: Luisa Piccarreta

The Hour Of Grace is on December 8th, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

From 12 Noon To 1 PM, (your local time, so this should cover the Earth with graces for a 24 hour period.)

THE REQUEST OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER FOR THE HOUR OF GRACE:

1. The Hour of Grace is to be one full hour of prayer, beginning at 12:00 Noon and continuing until 1:00 PM, on December 8th, Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

2. During this hour, the person making the “Hour of Grace” either at home, church, the grotto, must put away all distractions (do not answer the phones or answer any doors or do anything but totally concentrate on your union with God during this special Hour of Grace).

3. Begin the Hour of Grace by praying Psalm 51 three times with out-stretched arms.

4. The rest of the Hour of Grace may be spent in silent communication with God meditating upon the Passion of Jesus, saying the Holy Rosary, Precious Blood Chaplet, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Chaplet of St. Michael, Sorrowful Mother Chaplet, etc.

The Blessed Virgin has requested that Her important message be sent throughout the entire world. Please help Her Mission: “that all souls be drawn to God and that Jesus will be loved in every heart.”

If the children cannot recite Psalm 51 between 12 noon and 1:00 p.m., because they may be in school, say it in the evening as a family.

The Blessed Virgin Mary promised that whatever a person asked Her for during this Hour of Grace (even in impossible cases) would be granted to them, in accordance with the Will of the Eternal Father.

Here’s more info on the Devotion to Mary, Mystical Rose: Devotions to honor Our Lady, the Mystical Rose

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)